North Korea Placed Under 'Martial Law', Told To 'Prepare For War'

North Korea has been placed under “martial law”, according to reports from neighbouring South Korea, while Kim Jong-un, leader of the habitually bellicose state, has informed soldiers in the Korean People's Army to “prepare for war”.

Kim Jong-un has 'prepared' his troops, according to South Korean media

The posturing from Pyongyang follows international criticism over North Korea’s stated plans to forge ahead with a third nuclear weapons test, which could be timed to fall on the birthday of Jong-un’s father, the late Kim Jong-il on February 16.

According to The Telegraph, reports in the South Korean media have been verified by officials in Seoul and Beijing, while satellite imagery of the Pyunggye-ri testing ground suggests that the site is being prepared for a blast.

Any future testing would follow detonations in 2006 and 2009, which drew international condemnation, and well as the more recent launch of a rocket in December, widely regarded as a trial of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile system.